Never Truly Alone
by Sai-Katana
Summary: After the raid in Konoha, Gaara is left wounded. A girl from his past who secretly admired him, comes to his aid. ROMANCE ENSUES! GaaraxOC GaaraTemariKankuro....sibling love only! rated for later chapters


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto!! For if I did, Gaara would MINE!!!!!! that, and Naruto would not be saying "Believe it!" after every fricken sentence...so again, no you sue!!

Okies... i realize that some of my fics are lacking chapters. I'm sorry...but see, life comes with drama, and i'm stuck in the middle. As KayomieLatoro she will back me up! So anywayz, I love Gaara and he is mine!! (ok not really but a girl can dream!) I was sooooo sad when I learned of Gaara's past. SO I MADE A HAPPY FIC!!! deal...tee hee! ok enough babbling, you came here for a story right!! well here we go!!! (pssst! this where you read)

"I'm sorry about today. You got hurt right? Here's some ointment." Young Gaara said, holding up a paper bag. _I hope this works._ The girl inside the door stared back at him with cold and fearful eyes. "Go away monster!" she yelled and slammed the door shut. Gaara stood there, too shocked to move. His eyes were wide, and he dropped the bag on the floor. _Monster…_the word echoed in his head as he slowly made his way back home. Little did he know that a young, black-haired girl was watching him, her emerald green eyes never leaving him as he dragged his feet along the pathway. "Gaara-sama…" She said, barely above a whisper. From her hiding spot behind the wall, she could see the shocked and confused look in his eyes. Her heart went out to him. How is it that in this entire village, no one will acknowledge him? No one will approach him and say, 'Hello Gaara-sama. How are you?'.

The young 5-year old girl followed Gaara, moving from shadow to shadow without making a sound. _Gaara-sama… _She stopped when she saw the drunken man nearly bump into him. At first he yelled at him, but upon realizing it was Gaara, he reacted just like the others did. He stilled, and was shivering with fear. Hikari knew what would happen next. It always happened whenever someone didn't get away fast enough. The first time Hikari saw Gaara kill someone, she looked away and had nightmares for a week. How is it that a young boy could kill someone, without even batting an eye? How could he do it, right then and there, just by random? Did he not feel anything? These questions used to puzzle her to no end. Until one day, after seeing him kill again, she followed him. She watched as he sat on the roof of the tower, and cried. Immediately, her heart softened and she even began to cry softly herself. Even though Hikari was only four at that time, she was sharp for her age. Like Gaara, she too was specially trained and knew many ninjutsus, genjutsus and taijutsus. She watched as the tears fell down his eyes, his hand grasping his shirt where his heart was, and heard the sad and painful cries escape his lips. She heard his pain, his anguish and loneliness. So much that she felt it as her own.

And so, from then on she followed him. Watching him, wishing she could talk to him. At one point she did walk up to him and say hello. But, her father immediately pulled her away saying, "How many times have I told you to stay away from him? Do you want him to kill you?"

She looked over her shoulder and watched as he reached out to her, the tears already falling from his eyes. She could hear his cries, "No! Please don't leave me alone!"

Hikari jolted awake and sat up in her bed. She panted heavily and wiped away the cold sweat on her brow. _That day…why am I remembering it now?_ She looked outside her window; dawn was just breaking in Sunagakure. She swung her feet over the side and sighed into her hands. "Gaara-sama…how long has it been since I last saw you?" She stood from her bed went about her daily routine of washing up and dressing up. As she tied her headband around her waist, she recalled what had happened one night, when Gaara sat on top of the same tower after killing that drunk.

Gaara sat atop the roof, sitting at the edge. He looked at his hands…and cried again. Clutching his chest, asking himself why? Why was it always him that everyone shunned and feared? She was about to go up and try to console him, when she spotted the kunai knives coming at him. She gasped in fear, but then quickly calmed remembered that nothing can hurt him because of the sand. Still, she made her way up the tower to help him. As she climbed, she looked to the assassin who clearly wanted to hide his identity.

Hikari set down the brush on the vanity table and closed her eyes shut. She could feel the horror, the fear that went through her as she watched the assassin die right in front of her.

Hikari stared wide-eyed as Gaara delivered the final blow, and the sand crushed the attacker. Immediately after, Gaara began to whimper, as if he somehow knew him. She watched as he slowly approached the attacker and shakily reaches out for the mask. When he did, they both gasped in unison, albeit Hikari was a bit quieter. It was Yashamaru, Gaara's uncle. Rumors had it that Yashamaru and Gaara were close, so why was it that he tried to kill him? She sat against the wall and breathed heavily. _With Gaara-sama in this state, if I go out there he might try and kill me._ She thought. So, all she could do was sit there and wait.

Hikari stood and looked at herself in the mirror. Her sleek, jet black hair and emerald green eyes really stood against her ivory skin. Her hair was tied in a ponytail with a ribbon tying it together. She pulled on her black gloves that had the finger tips cut off, and pulled on her tan cloak. She lowered her head as she remembered all what Yashamaru said to Gaara. It was cruel, even his own mother cared nothing for him. Then again, his entire family saw him only as a weapon, a tool to be feared. But still…

She clenched her fists tight and regretfully let the tears fall from her eyes. She could still hear his sobs, his cries of anguish, the sound of the sand carving the character for "Love" into his forehead. All of it was crystal clear in her mind. The image, the sounds… she could still feel the pain that she also felt for him. And the anger she felt towards his family, towards everyone who shunned him and left him alone. "Why? Why did everyone leave him? You created him, and yet you fear him. You wonder why he became so hostile… It's your entire fault; everything is your entire fault!" She sobbed, letting the cries of anger seep through her teeth. She fell on her knees and cried even more, muffling her cries by holding her hands to her mouth. For several minutes she stayed like this. Finally, she stopped and sniffed. She stood and wiped away the tears as she headed out of her room into the hallway.

Ever since that night, Gaara became even more distant, more hostile. He truly became the fearsome monster that they all labeled him to be. He would kill anyone who got in his path, mainly the assassins that his father sent after him. Even then, Hikari never stopped watching him. She would sneak glances at him, hoping that somewhere, beyond the intense and murderous eyes, there was still that young boy that she so cared for. The young boy, whose only wish was to be loved by anyone.

Sighing, she sat at the dining table and stared boringly at her meal. She looked towards her father and noticed that he looked stressed. "Father? Is everything alright?" She asked. Her father was a jounin, and also a very important man in their village. Well, their whole clan was. The Kagayaki's are known for their amazing fighting skills and wisdom. The Kagayaki's are indeed deadly fighters that can make even the toughest opponent draw their last breath, but they were also known for their healing powers. They were able to use their chakra to heal external and internal injuries. And to see a powerful man such as her father so stressed means that something extremely bad had happened. "It's about the raid in Konoha. It appears…that we lost." He said, running his fingers through his black and silver trimmed hair. Hikari nearly choked on her food. _That's impossible! _"How?! Wasn't Gaara-sama with them?" She asked, nearly frantic. Again he sighed and stood from the table, "That's the problem. Gaara-sama," he hesitated. "What? What? Tell me!" The young girl demanded franticly. He glanced sideways at her and replied, "Gaara-sama somehow has been defeated." Hikari slammed her fists on the table and stood abruptly, startling her father. "That's not true! No one can defeat Gaara-sama! No one!" she yelled. Her father was taken aback by his daughter's reaction, but quickly remembered how fond of him she was. "I'm afraid it's true my dear. And what's even worse news is that Orochimaru betrayed us, and killed Kazekage-sama." He said, growling out Orochimaru's name. Hikari slumped back down in her chair, disbelief clearly written on her face. _It's not true. Gaara-sama…defeated? It's not possible! No one is able to defeat him. No one has even touched him. _

Kaizan took note of his daughter's reaction with great interest. It's true that he, like everyone else in Sunagakure, feared and ignored Gaara. The same, however, could not be said about his daughter. He noticed that as a child, she would take quick glances at him and once even tried to speak with him. He even caught her when she would sneak back in late at night. When he would ask where she was, she would not answer and go straight to her room. As a Sunagakure jounin, he became immediately curious and one night even followed her. What he saw touched his heart deeply and made him resent ever treating Gaara the way he did. He saw the young boy, crying atop the rooftop and saw Hikari just below him, so he wasn't able to see her, crying as well. He could hear the young boy's sobs and cries of loneliness and anguish. Ever since then, he let Hikari sneak out every night. He couldn't bring himself to stop her, knowing full well that he would only be causing her pain. Plus, she probably wouldn't listen to him anyway. Now as he watched her with the disbelief and worry on her face, he just fully realized how much she really did care. Before when she was a child he figured that it was a phase and it would eventually pass away. But no, apparently it wasn't.

"Hikari, the council has asked me to venture into Konoha to help Gaara-sama. But, I can't. There is too much to do here, what with Kazekage-sama dead, this whole village will start a riot and somebody needs to stay here to keep things under control." He said, sitting back down. She looked up at him, "Father, I have a question."

"Yes?"

"If Kazekage-sama is dead, does that mean that Gaara-sama is the 5th?"

At this, he slumped slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I suppose that would be understandable. Gaara is the son of the 4th and is the most powerful ninja in our village. Yes, I'm positive that he would be the next Kazekage."

Hikari nodded, and then stood up slowly from the chair. Her head was down so that the bangs of her hair shadowed her eyes. "Father," she said softly. "Hm?"

"You said that you are not able to retrieve Gaara right?"

He nodded, knowing what she was getting too. She lifted her head, "Let me go get him father! I will bring Gaara back home."


End file.
